Satanic invocation opens Kenai Assembly meeting

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For the second time in three years, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting has been opened with an invocation from satanist Iris Fontana, representing the Satanic Temple.

After the borough lost in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of three non-Christians, it must allow just about anyone to give an invocation.

This was Fontana’s second trip to the microphone to invoke the name of Satan over the local deliberating body. During her 2016 invocation, Fontana closed her remarks with “It is done. Hail Satan.” That was the phrase that changed the borough policy, an action that resulted in a lawsuit. The entire controversy has made national news.

The current invocation policy is here.

This time, a few in the room walked out before the invocation, including Assembly members Norm Blakeley and Paul Fischer, Chief of Staff James Baisden. Mayor Charlie Pierce showed up late. Several audience members walked out. As before, Fontana closed her invocation with “It is done. Hail Satan.”

Local media posted a photo of Mayor Pierce with his head bowed, but in fact, he was not in the room.

Listen to Fontana’s invocation here.

Later, during the public comment section of the meeting, Nikiski residents Michele Hartline and Paul Huber offered Christian prayers as their comments. A protest outside attracted about 25 Christians who objected to Satan being offered a seat at the proverbial table.

The July 2 meeting will be opened by Greg Anderson, who warned that his message would also be challenging. In September, Barrett Fletcher, of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, will offer an invocation.

Earlier this year, Carrie Hansen, member of a local atheist group, offered the invocation.

42 COMMENTS

  1. satanists should keep their anti-Alaskan/American rhetoric in their own milieu, not public forums. I’m sure, if the shoe was on the other foot, Christians would be forced to do so. In the end, KPB voters are getting what they “voted” for. If the assembly members can’t figure out a way to prevent this travesty, they shouldn’t be there. ACLU be damned. Their version of “civil liberties” defies every concept America was founded on. This is not “free speech”. This is the subversion of everything our founding fathers fought against. This anti-American/Alaskan, disgusting policy is finding footing in every corner of dim/socialist/lib America. Here’s another item of interest. The Kenai assembly introduced an ordinance to require anyone camping in their own tent, to pay a “bed tax” to the borough. What do you think about that, Alaskans? How far will the lib/dim/socialists go to enforce their anti-Alaskan/American agenda? More $$ to pay for their socialist agenda, is all it amounts to. A complete disgrace to all things Alaskan/American. The fight intensifies. The voting booth is Alaskans’ best weapon.

  2. Although it may seem ridiculous to some in the audience, it should open up many Alaskan’s eyes to that fact that not everyone in the world follows the same religion (or ANY religion) for that matter.
    Excluding the “big 3” religions in the world (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) most religions believe in many gods (polytheism) and do not subscribe to only one divine diety.
    This sort of paganism was popular in ancient Greece and surrounding territories well before the printing press and modern bible was invented to “inform” the masses.

    • You should do a little more research friend. Jewish adherents only account for only 0.02% of of all faiths world wide.  Hinduism has over 1 Billion followers. But more importantly, you should study what effect that popular paganism in ancient Greece had on its population and the overall health and vitality of one of human histories earliest “modern” civilizations? Truly, it is easy to demonstrate, that our current or more relevant, recent, western civilization, founded primarily on judeo-christian values, has advanced our civilization at a greater pace, and with greater justice and equanimity, than any other value system in the history of the world. As we abandon those values, so to will we soon become the “ancient Americans” once revered and discussed with awe at our accomplishments… as our society does to hell

      • Dennis,
        Polytheistic beliefs were not just common in ancient Greece, but are still common throughout the world.
        America is not an Island…
        Currently over 1.5 billion Chinese practice various religions including Buddhism and Taoism.
        India makes up an additional 1.5 billion (non monotheistic practitioners)…
        “India is a secular state with no state religion. The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world’s major religions; namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.”
        Then there is Africa where art and philosophy are interwoven with spiritual beliefs.
        “Religion in Africa is multifaceted and has been a major influence on art, culture and philosophy.”
        All in all there is still great diversity in religion (spirituality) throughout the world and what we are seeing in Kenai only further proves that diversity is alive and well in Alaska (and protected by our judicial system).

        • Steven, your knowledge of pagan and polytheistic religions doesn’t make any difference. I’ve often been fascinated by some of these varied belief systems. The fact is however, our founders were for the most part, men of Christian faith, and influenced by those beliefs to found our secular, but guided by righteous Christian values. Again, those founders created something that has advanced all of humanity more so than the pagan and polytheists you describe. I know it’s difficult to compare/quantify our contemporary society with most of these others in their hayday, but I don’t believe any of them could come close to our accomplishments in science, industry, economic strength, justice, liberty, etc.
          We can fully listen to and appreciate other ideas, religions and philosophies… No big deal… but we have to exercise some discrimination and refrain from permitting bad ideas, harmful, or dangerous ideas to influence our government/society. A belief system that celebrates the antithesis of our predominant religions is designed solely to piss off the majority. Its proponants are basicly rebellious children sticking it to their daddy. We should not allow it, nor tolerate these petty children.

          • As for the Treaty of Tripoli, America is not a Christian nation and has no established religion. No matter how hard theist try they can not enforce their religious beliefs on the rest of the country.

    • Aren’t ancient Greece and “surrounding” communities no longer there? Wonder why. America was founded on Christian principles, including free speech. That should not be construed as “permissible” to satanic worshippers, in my opinion. I don’t care what anyone does in their own back yard or satanic dungeon unless that “worship” is being promoted in a public forum with intent to entice people into that anti-culture. Then, it gets kind of personal, to me. satan is not a “divine diety”. satan is the devil and all who worship him are free to do so. In their own way and in their own surroundings, not portrayed as legitimate in public forums. My opinion.

      • Ben,
        America was actually founded on Freedom to practice the religion of your choice or no religion if that is your belief.
        “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise there of…”
        Supporting one religion over another is not the job of government and history has shown that only Authoritarian regimes have forced citizens to practice a chosen state religion without their consent.
        Remember that many Nazis also pushed Christianity on the population during the 1930’s.
        “Some Nazis, such as Hans Kerrl, who served as Hitler’s Minister for Church Affairs pushed for “Positive Christianity”, which was a uniquely Nazi form which rejected its Jewish origins and the Old Testament, and portrayed “true” Christianity as a fight against Jews, with Jesus depicted as an Aryan.”
        (Wikipedia)
        All in all religion has been used to wage war against those with opposing spiritual beliefs for over 1,000 years and has not brought civilization any closer to world peace or mutual respect for one another.

  3. TOO MANY people have moved here from Oregon, California, Washington state & New York, bringing their liberal bias with them. I wonder ~ if the PFD is forever stolen ~ would many of these “invaders” move back to their places of origin? One could only hope. Speaking from Willow …. I thought Anchorage, Wasilla & Talkeetna were nuts. But Kenai seems to take the cake!

  4. DAMNED little AMERICAN OR Christian about the VOMIT ALCU! LIKE the UN they should be BOOTED from these shores!!!!

    • Do you mean ACLU? Anyway, how about a moment of silence and do away with all of this nonsense and focus on running the borough, economic development and everything else that keeps us a economically afloat.

  5. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

    This applies to everyone, and everyone should exercise it, even strange folk like Satanists, Nazis, racists, and all the other less-desirable voices. It’s at the core of who we are. To say they should keep “in their own milieu, not in public forums” is to suggest they are excluded from this most American of rights. Let it all happen in the light of day.

    • A good day to you, B,
      The “core of who we are” is a misleading statement. Take, for instance, the Aztecs, Incas and countless “religions” over the millennia (including some “ancient” Americans) that practiced human sacrifice to appease their “gods”. Some religions, even now, perpetuate and accommodate the killing of any human not agreeing with them. Should all be given free rein in America too? How about a modern religion that believes in mutilation of children, that women are “possessions”, not really equals as humans, and gives the “religious” right to kill any non-believers? Should there be public “prayers” to accommodate that too? Should all that happen in the “light of day”? Maybe the “dark of night”? Because someone believes in mistreating or even the killing of other human beings, in the name of “religion”, should that be tolerated as freedom of religion in America? Not without me kicking, screaming and fighting back, all the way down. A guarantee of my “freedom”, I’m pretty sure.

      • And without the killing / torturing of animals ~ a good friend was an Animal Control Officer for 7 years, here. The stories of some of her calls, are chilling. A dog, skinned alive, nailed to a tree. It was still alive, & whimpering, when she got there. She mercifully put it out of its misery. That was on the outskirts of Wasilla. Done by a satanic cult.

      • Hi Sheb,

        Let’s not jump sharks here. Free speech does not mean free action. Like the old saying goes, your freedom stops at the end of my nose, meaning you can say what you want as long as you don’t impact my freedom (hit me in the nose, for example). So when you advocate limiting free speech just because someone may take some negative physical action, you impede constitutional freedom based on some hypothetical that runs counter to the basic principal that we’re all innocent until proven guilty. And we shouldn’t get too high and mighty — so-called Christians have done some horrible things in the name of God.

    • That’s “Congress”, not the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly.
      .
      At some point, one must say enough is enough and act on the courage of one’s convictions, ACLU, and Satanists be damned.
      .
      How does this happen exactly? For starters, everyone on the Borough Assembly and in the audience should have gotten up and walked out, postponed the meeting, or met in executive session with no invocation.
      .
      Whatever it takes to confound the trash whose sole aim is not the advancement of Satanism or their particular paganism, but the denigration of Christianity and Christians.
      .
      Could have been a non-denominational invocation delivered by leaders of recognized religions… no, it had to be satanic trash, delivered by trash.
      .
      What’s next, ditching “In God we trust” because ACLU might object?
      .
      Imagine this (expl del) happening, in a public gathering before a predominantly Muslim, or Sikh, or any other audience who take their religion as seriously. Wouldn’t end well for purveyors of such crap. Wouldn’t be many witnesses for the prosecution either.
      .
      That, my friend might be the core of who we are, when “strange folk” mistake tolerance for weakness.
      .
      Otherwise, one might ask, what’s next, where does it stop, are all public meetings at the mercy of every model of deviant behavior with an agenda to promote?
      .
      No. It stops when and where Americans say it stops, ACLU, Satanists, and every other exemplar of deviant behavior be damned.

      • Morrigan,

        Why are you worried someone might mistake tolerance for weakness? Are you insecure? I’m not. My tolerance is based on the strength of my conviction that our system, our principles, and our character, in whole, are strong. I am confident this person’s exercise of free speech will not bring our way of life crumbling down. I am also confident that letting them speak in the open gives us opportunity to demonstrate through compassion and community that there’s a better way.

        • Bit discomfiting when it’s up close and personal, no?
          .
          Hasn’t occurred to us this fluff has its right to free speech, but other Americans have the right not to hear it, not to give way before it…
          .
          Comfortable, lazy anonymization of values “our system”; it’s okay, somebody’ll take care of it, we’ll just kumbaya, no need to worry about what’s next while the next wave of social sewage washes over us, right?
          .
          That’s your “security”?
          .
          Assaults on our borders, language, and culture rather suggest it’s time to concern ourselves with what could be next, what we’ll do about it, how we’ll stop, or at least slow, the slide of “our way of life” into historical footnote, superseded by a “better way”.
          .
          Unless, of course, our government-ACLU-Satanist team forbids…
          .
          Can’t happen?
          .
          Have a look at current events. Wonder whether our state politicians do what they do because they perceive us to be too weak to resist.
          .
          Imagine your government-ACLU-Satanist team forcing you to tolerate more such nastiness at your doorstep, then you explaining to your children why you give way to it.
          .
          Americans like you deserve that?
          .
          All the drivel about “bullying”, yet we insist on ourselves –and our countrymen– being bullied by these escapees from Bedlam…
          .
          “bring our way of life crumbling down” indeed!
          .
          We must abrogate personal values and boundaries because, when it’s up close and personal, social mores forbid us from applying logical progression to the consequences of actions by this fluff and others like it?
          .
          Difficult to say who’s the crazier, no?

  6. Better to have no invocation than a mockery of it by individuals dedicated to undoing and demeaning an acknowledgement of the Creator’s presence. For those to whom the invocation actually means something, better to gather in advance and have a meaningful moment of prayer. The invocation as it was traditionally designed was a unifying effort to acknowledge and “invoke” Divine intervention in the ways man (general term) conducted worldly work. Now it’s a platform for absurdity.

  7. While I absolutely understand Satan is the epitome of evil, I also know beyond a shadow of a doubt that “Greater is He (Jesus) that lives in me than he (Satan) that lives in the world.”
    If the Kenai Borough continues to have invocations at the beginning of their meetings, freedom of religion and the Court ruling leave no room to exclude any religious group from providing the invocation. Each person in attendance has the individual choice to invoke Jesus into the proceedings through individual, private communication with the One who is Greater, rendering the invocation of Satan or of any other god of no effect. The only other choice is for the invocation to be deleted from the meetings since no matter who delivers it, it will be offensive to someone. However, I think praying to the One True God quietly is the best option as Christians should not be sending the message that we fear what they are doing—but rather convey that Christians have ultimately nothing to fear from any other religion. Truth and Grace win every time! And keeping the invocation means that Christians get a turn to deliver the Truth.
    Ultimately, freedom to make the choice to believe whatever we decide is a God-given right—He has chosen to allow it and respects the boundary He created — we should follow His example. He loved all, speaks truth to all, and died for all knowing that not all will choose Him. I believe it is possible for everyone to respect the right of others to believe as they choose, while not compromising one’s own beliefs, always looking for the opportunity to share the Truth with anyone who is searching for it, but not belittling anyone for what they choose to believe however ridiculous those beliefs may seem by comparison to what I believe, knowing that God said: “The Gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing.” To me it is everything. And I feel no threat from those who believe otherwise—only sorrow for them.

  8. In a move to appease Satan the Kenai has allowed his name to be exalted in their assembly. This is a direct smack in the face of the living God who created all that there is. To do this is to invite demonic powers of influence to overshaddow all government functions. While God is love, Satan’s mantra is hatred, lies and deceit. If you exalt the Devil you will be destroyed both in this life and the one to come. Can you imagine standing before the Lord of all creation and he asks YOU, why you did such a thing. After he laughs at whatever pitiful answer you give, he will cast you into the Lake of Fire so that you can be tormented for all eternity with that Devil in that place. Repent now and cast that Devil out of your midst and serve the Living God through Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

  9. I agree with you completely. I have spent my entire life hearing devout Christians tell me and others like me that I deserve to be ostracized and abused, that I do not deserve life or love, and that after death I will be greeted with eternal torment. I have lived my life in fear of Christians because of this. Hearing a Christian prayer in a public place sends a shiver down my spine. Most Christians are not actually dangerous, though. You learn to accept the threats as empty and live and let live.

      • That’s all good ppl do anymore and will continue to do until the lights go out, men have been raised to be weak for just this reason. Fed lies about unfettered liberty and tolerance for the depraved. This disgusting display is the fault of the cowards who allow it.

        Last I checked the ACLU doesn’t have an army, if the feds want to send in the national guard to make sure a satanist gets to pray in an assembly meeting let them try.

  10. Here’s a couple of Bible verses on the matter:

    Matthew 6:1
    Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

    Matthew 6:5
    And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

    Matthew 6:6
    But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

  11. Culture and customs define a society. A government provides a legal framework for acceptable behaviour.

    We were set up to be a small government and the responsibility to be for the system working laid at the feet of the individual.

    Our nation’s culture and customs are under attack they will be destroyed (see monuments, markers holidays ect) completely by violently, threats legal terrorism, and via appeasement.

    Americans find it harder to be Americans without offending those who live among us and despise us.

    It’s truly American to be offended and deal with that by accepting the everyone is different as long as no laws are broken or rights breached we can coexist.

    Recently in history those used the excuse of being offended to tear down our culture and customs for the simple joy of a sense of power of controlling a group.

    Parades and protests keep upping their games to win the filthest, disgusting, trashest award.

    We are to sit down and let it happen to prove we accept that others have the right to be individuals.

    Be who you are but don’t complaint when we choose not to associate with you.

    Walk away with strength. There comes a time when the the bending stick breaks and we walk out, leaving you without an audience to shock.

  12. That would not help you here, as the Satanic Temple is now federally recognized and tax-exempt.

    A lot of you are missing the point entirely, which is not that satanists want their invocations in public meetings. And a lot of you don’t even seem to understand what “satanists” are. Most of them do not believe in Satan or any supernatural beings at all and they exist on a philosophical basis — some for freedom, and some to oppose Christianity as the default national religion.

    The only reason they are doing this is they want the separation of church and state enforced, and when religion works its way into government affairs, they want to make the point that government can’t favor a specific religion, which in this case is Christianity. In essence, they don’t want your religion forced on them in a government setting, and the only way they can make that point is to use the same law to force theirs on you, quite fairly, I might add. And no, I am not one of them. I think they are genius trolls in this case, however. And that’s the point.

    Again, those of you turning this into some sort of supernatural warfare for souls or recruiting are missing the point, which is strictly constitutional. You can’t see past your offense to even honestly consider the reason behind all this. Get rid of the invocation entirely. It has no place in government. Honor the constitution and apply it equally and they will go away.

  13. Simple solution. Open the damn thing with NO religious BS. It’s all man made garbage and everyone needs to grow up. Wasting time and money on gas going to any church is an affront to the air we share. All the pollution that trip to your church, (no matter the god or devil you worship there) creates will choke your grand children someday.

    So you ALL look like satan/devil worshippers to me. Hail the air we share and the Earth we live in. F— your bull— religions.

    • A few comments for you Cory,

      From personal, first hand experience. I saw several of the toughest, non-religious, nay saying, anti religion men I have ever met, turn to God in the moment they thought would be their last, on a sinking, storm ravaged fishing vessel. They didn’t pray to satan, Odin, or anyone else, except God Almighty, to save their lives. To a man, they/we promised everlasting obedience, complete faith in God, anything to avoid the cold, watery death we all thought was unavoidable. The weather was so terrible, the coast guard couldn’t find or get to us. We were far offshore and no navigation aids working on the vessel. Zero visibility, huge, storm driven, deep water waves with “white cap rollers” on top. This went on for about 12 hours before a “miracle” occurred and we actually saw an opening through the storm. That opening in the storm sky enabled us to see a familiar navigation point, about 20 miles away, that had been obscured until each and every one, in desperate need, had pledged their soul and entire being to God, if only he would provide divine intervention and save our lives. He did. We lived. That opening in the storm lasted about 15 minutes, but it saved our lives. Ever since (about 45 years ago), I have thought about that night and day of panic and what happened to let us live.. Was it real? Did it really happen? Yes. Funny, though, after we didn’t die, the men, all of them except me, kind of forgot what they promised to God in their moment of desperation. They forgot, He didn’t. I’m the only one left out of that crew, all these years later. I haven’t forgotten and I never will. When anyone says I look like a devil worshipper, I am offended. You have no idea. I’ll guarantee you. I’ve heard of the same experience on numerous battlefields. People who face death suddenly realize how much God means to them. Not satan or other “pretenders”. Your turn may come. I believe we all get a “turn”, sooner or later. When you “see the light”, it’s unmistakable. Just a few words to let you see the truth. Take heed.

  14. I’m not sure if the Church of the SubGenius is still popular, considering that they guaranteed the rapture would occur on a specific date which passed over 20 years ago. I have heard a popular conspiracy theory about the prevalence of Dobbsheads in public architecture; the person who told me about it specifically mentioned the Boney Courthouse. Nonetheless, if any of their adherents are still around, perhaps they could give an invocation, since everyone could use some Slack in their lives. Or, as cannabis is now legal, they could have a Rastafarian come down, clutching a giant spliff like you see on that one Cheech & Chong album cover. Oh yeah, are Christians still involved with this and able to participate? All this seems so silly to me.

  15. Today, June 22, I see this POS has made national headlines. Isn’t that something to be proud of, Alaskans? Specifically, KPB Alaskans. Satanists must be “rolling in their glory”. I’m sick of it. Rave on, KPB assembly. Disgrace everything Alaskan by letting this BS continue. No invocation is much better than current policy. Get your “collective heads” out of your “you know what”. Stop this travesty now or pay the “political” price in the next election.

  16. That was not a legitimate prayer that should ever be allowed. Any religion or cult should not be given a platform to urge people to do something against their own religion. This is not the intention of what the law was about. A prayer in that political platform is supposed to be about lifting up all the members to have a successful and productive meeting for the people of Kenai. Take this group of Satanists back to court. If they were given guidelines about the prayers such as I mentioned, they would quit showing up and fizzle out. Because it’s about them and their selfishness, not the people of Kenai, Alaska………………………………………………………………………………………..The U S Supreme Court has ruled …………………………”Defending a practice used by the town of Greece, N.Y., the majority ruled that opening local government meetings with sectarian prayers doesn’t violate the Establishment Clause as long as no religion is advanced or disparaged, and residents aren’t coerced”… (Supreme Court ruling 2014.} The Satanist offered up a prayer that urges all there to embrace the impulse to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. A public slam against The Jewish and Christian Religions and others who believe in the Adam and Eve story. The Satanist Church in their own words say “Its about self indulgence”. Clearly, The Satanist tried to advance her religion and disparage another. …………………………………………………..”As a practice that has long endured, legislative prayer has become part of our heritage and tradition, part of our expressive idiom, similar to the Pledge of Allegiance, inaugural prayer, or the recitation of ‘God save the United States and this honorable court’ at the opening of this court’s sessions,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote.
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  17. This group believes in science and secularism. You are right though, this group does not believe in a real Satan. So I don’t understand why they call themselves a Temple of Satan and why they would hail Satan. My issue is not about not allowing them to do an invocation, although they don’t believe in any kind of spirituality. And the policy clearly states they are there to accommodate .the spiritual needs of it’s members…………………………………………………………………….It is the intent of the assembly to allow a private citizen to solemnize the
    proceedings of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. It is the policy of the
    assembly to allow for an invocation, which may include a short prayer or a
    solemnizing message, to be offered at the beginning of its meetings for the
    benefit of the assembly to accommodate the spiritual needs of the public
    officials.
    There is nothing wrong with religious people in a public govt. meeting using the words In Jesus name or in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit. Or to simply use the word God. Using those words is not a call to denounce anyone else’s religion or beliefs. This woman clearly called on those present to denounce their beliefs. She used it as a platform to do just that, She stated “Let us be present and clear our minds and be free of outdated propaganda and regulations created by Historical people who were afraid of the unknown. She has no right to tell people how or what to believe about history. What gives her the right to say what anybody believes is propaganda or was created out of fear. And she also has no right to call people to embrace anyone to go against another person’s religion by calling them to embrace the urge to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The US Supreme Court has ruled against that as I have already stated and quoted from. It is also a clear violation of The Invocation policies of Kenai, Alaska, that says the same thing as the US Supreme Court…………………………………………………………………………..No guidelines or limitations shall be issued regarding an invocation’s content,
    except that the assembly shall request by the language of this policy that no
    invocation should proselytize or advance any faith, or disparage the religious
    faith or non-religious views of others. …………………………………..The policy is intended to be applied in a way that is all-inclusive and diverse
    to represent the faiths of the residents of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. This woman clearly violated the policy of Kenai, Alaska and The US Constitution.

  18. My church community repeatedly stresses that God is no respecter of persons, that ALL have fallen short of His glory. In light of that, I would say that the real work of Satan is being done by the Fairbanks North Star Borough assembly as they further foment class warfare. The latest example was reported by the ADN today: “The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the borough assembly recently passed an ordinance that would have exempted certain individuals, such as judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers, from public search.” Never mind the fact that if the state doesn’t follow suit with the practices of the Recorder’s Office and the Division of Elections, you can easily get that information anyway.

  19. Reply to June 21st comment by Kyle F.
    Kyle, hello. I enjoyed your comment. I use to believe this too. Unfortunately this is often mis-quoted by not fully having the full information.

    http://politicalpistachio.blogspot.com/2015/09/do-you-not-recognize-treaty-of-tripoli.html?m=1

    “Some understood the language that the United States was not ‘founded on the Christian religion’ to have meant that we are not a theocracy like a Muslim country is; we are not a Christian nation in the same way a Muslim country is. Politically we are not a Christian nation, but the people and the culture were surely Christian in nature…

    Once one understands the context of the whole situation, it is reasonable to realize that the language in the Treaty of Tripoli was not a declaration of secularism as those that support the modern version of the unconstitutional idea of “separation of church and state” may claim, but an appeal to a Christianity-hating political system such as exists in Islam, in the hopes that such a declaration would make the pirates of Tripoli stop their attacks against American vessels.”

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